RunSenoRun

South Lake Union: Mistral Kitchen

I am an idiot. I've lived two blocks from one of the best restaurants in Seattle and never stepped inside. Until tonight.

The picture to the left is taken from my balcony. The triangle building in the middle is Mistral Kitchen. Yeah, it's THAT close.

Before going, I did a little research on their website. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to order, but the site says the menu changes daily. Even so, the menu is filled with so many great looking dishes, I was pretty sure I would leave satisfied.

Upon entering, I took a seat at the bar, and low and behold, there was a Happy Hour menu! It turns out that two of the dishes I had planned on ordering were on the menu for $4 and $5 (regular $9 and $12). More on those later.

The joint itself is beautiful with lots of natural light. From the hostesses to the bussers to the servers to my bartender, everyone just seemed... happy. Maybe it's different at 9:30, but early in the evening, they all seemed glad to be there.

OK, the food.

Sitting at the bar, I felt I should order a drink. Plus, their bartenders are supposed to be good, so I figured I would steer away from beer/wine. I ordered the Starboard Light... Auchentoshan Single Malt, House Passion Fruit Syrup, Pomegranate and Lemon. It was refreshing without being overly sweet. The drink is about as tropical a whiskey drink can be.

My first dish was Pistachio Brittle. Yep, I ordered brittle for dinner. And yep, it was fantastic. Crispy with just enough chewy, salty but not too salty, and sweet but not too sweet. I loved every bit of it. I ate it through the entire meal, saving one last piece for dessert.

The second dish was the Fois Gras Mousse. Served chilled, I would still be eating if it was served like an endless bowl of pasta at Olive Garden. The mousse is topped with a Pedro Gimenez gelee (a little research taught me the Pedro Gimenez is a type of white grape found in Argentina), a fig, and 30-year old balsamic vinegar. Again with the sweet/salty combination I so love. This dish was just $4.00 for happy hour! This has to be the best deal in town.

Next up was the Pork Belly, Chef's Choice. Tonight, the chef chose to serve it as a slider. The slice of pork belly was more than generous. When I asked what gave it it's heat (it made me sweat), the bartender said "well, it could be the pickled ginger or the red curry sauce." Whichever it was, probably both, kudos to the chef for adding them. The bun was real interesting, too. It was a Chinese-style bun, but cooked a bit more to give it a slightly crisp, rather than moist texture. Overall, the slider was delicious. This dish was just $5.00. Oh, for the record, the brittle was $3.00. 

Finally, yep, there's one more dish, I ordered a big boy plate... the 48 Hour Pork Shoulder. The shoulder was served over garbanzo beans and a tomato-cumin sauce. The knives at Mistral look like curved surgical knives. They are skinny little things. When I held the knife up, I wasn't sure it was going to actually cut through the pork shoulder. Turns out I didn't have to worry about it. I could've cut through it with a spoon. I really like the way the pork was prepared. It was tender, but it didn't dissolve into a flaky mess when cut into. The tomato-cumin sauce provided just the right amount of heat/flavor, it was strong without overpowering the meat. The garbanzo beans were also really good. But the star of the dish was definitely the pork. Wow.

And that was my Father's Day meal. If/when I have children, I want my gift from them to be dinner at Mistral Kitchen... by myself!

 

Best. Looking. Mannequin. Ever.

OK, I do realize, this is probably The. Creepiest. Post. Ever.

But, I walk past this mannequin every morning on my way to work. And every morning, I think, dang, she's really good looking... will this be the best looking woman I see all day?

Alas, she's been up for nearly a month. I know that one day, she will be replaced with a younger model.

Or, God forbid, I will come upon this window and she will be sharing it with a perfectly sculpted, Prada-wearing man. Should this day come to pass, my only consolation is knowing that, where he has a plastic bulge... I have an actual penis. 

Considering Clear as Your Sole Home ISP? Don't.

Last February I got into a bit of dispute with my cable/ISP (Broadstripe) and quit both while on the phone with customer service.

I knew I wouldn't missed cable TV. But, I was left in a bit of pickle for internet. If I wasn't going to have cable, I definitely needed fast internet. Unfortunately, where I live, I was left with one choice for broadband... Clear.

When I first started with Clear, my service was fine. Not as fast as my cable modem, but fast enough for everything I needed: general web browsing, streaming movies from Netflix, uploading photos, occasional work. Really, it was fine.

But this past summer, download speeds would randomly drop, at times it would go out completely. If you're not familiar, Clear is basically 4G cellular service. So, like your mobile phone, sometimes reception just gets bad. I could live with that. Better than going back to my despised cable company.

But, for the past three weeks, my service has been consistently crappy. It's literally faster to create a wi-fi hotspot with my 3G T-Mobile phone than it is to use Clear. With Clear, I can no longer stream video. The internet moves along like I'm on a 56k modem.

While on a 'service' IM chat with them last weekend, I got dropped twice. The first person I spoke with was great. When I got dropped the first time, I was lucky enough to reconnect with the same person. The next time, I was reconnected with a different "technician" and literally had to start the conversation over from the beginning. 

Turns out, the slowdown appears to be a known issue, as the tech said they "are working in (my) area" with no idea when the work will be finished. Why it took about 30 minutes to reach this point is beyond me. Also, if they they knew were working in the area, how about alerting their customers?

The best part of the conversation? While the tech was investigating the issue, Clear tried to upsell me a computer, with one of the selling points being the ability to watch movies on the go (see below). Not being able to stream Netflix is one of the reasons I was chatting with them in the first place. The nerve!

I'm moving to a different part of town next month. I'll see if the Clear service is any better at the new location. If it's not, I'll have to eat my $200 early termination fee. As they seem to be getting overloaded, this is probably what they want. If I was a lawyer, I would guess I could get out of it since I'm not getting the service I signed up for, but the hassle of going through that, let alone the legal fees, make that a battle not worth fighting. Maybe someone will do a class action lawsuit?

Here's a screenshot showing my conversation with the tech when they tried to upsell the computer, as well as my download/upload speeds at the time of conversation. Ugh:

Just Made: Risotto with Leeks, Shiitake Mushrooms and (not) Truffles

I was out to dinner with a friend on Friday night and we got to talking about risotto. It's been awhile since I last made it, so I found what seemed like a nice recipe on Epicurious and went shopping.

Shiitake mushrooms are expensive enough ($13.99 a pound)... there was no way I was going to invest in black truffles for risotto... for myself! If I was cooking for someone else, I would probably indulge.

You make this recipe in three steps. I basically took my time and did it in three different steps over the course of the afternoon.

First, I did the leeks with the heavy cream. This was simply dumping the leeks into whipped cream and cooking until the cream was reduced. Once that was done, I put it in the fridge.

Next, I did the mushrooms. This part took a bit longer, but it's really the guts of the dish. The mushrooms, onions and white truffle oil really combined for a powerful flavor.

Finally, after watching the second episode of the wonderful PBS "Sherlock Holmes" series, I made the risotto. If you've ever made risotto, you know it's kind of fun. You basically add a cup of stock to the rice, stir until it's all soaked in, then repeat... for this dish, it took about five cups of stock. Once the risotto is cooked, you combine all the ingredients. Done. Delicious.

I'm really happy with the way this turned out. I think it's on the shortlist for my solo Christmas feast. How does tonkotsu ramen and risotto sound? Actually, it sounds a bit salty. I think I have to work on my menu...

Perfect Lighting

The natural light at Lot No. 3 in Bellevue made for a really nice picture. This was taken with my phone. The grilled cheese was pretty damn good, too.

I'm actually doing one-off food posts on a Tumblr blog called Doug Santos Lives, if you're curious.

Ballard: Staple & Fancy Mercantile

Though I realize don't need to choose a favorite, I'm having an internal debate on whether I prefer Tom Douglas or Ethan Stowell. Let me rephrase that, I love them both, but if I could choose one chef for the private island I share with Zooey Deschanel (who, in said fantasy, eats both meat and gluten), it sort of depends on my mood.

At the end of the day, I would probably choose Douglas, simply because his desserts are so damn good. But, for the food food, definite toss-up.

Which leads to me to Staple & Fancy Mercantile, Ethan Stowell's newish restaurant in Ballard. Two of the better meals I've had in Seattle were Stowell restaurants: How to Cook a Wolf and Anchovies and Olives. How would Staple & Fancy compare?

For dinner, we ordered the chef's plate, a four-course meal whereby you have no idea what you're getting, but came highly recommended.

This was both a blessing and curse. The meal started strong, with a lovely Burrata cheese plate. It was followed up with two delicious seafood plates, grilled spot prawns and fried Ipswich clams. The clams, in particular, were really good. While deep fried, they weren't greasy.

The crostini served with two spreads: pork liver mousse and blue fish, wasn't quite as successful, as I found both to be overly salted. Of the two, I preferred the pork liver, which, while salty (par for the course, I guess) really was pretty good.

The bread salad, something I'd never eaten, was kind of interesting. It's basically a salad where the crouton is the main ingredient. In fact, there was no lettuce. This plays into my wheelhouse, as I usually shun all things green.The salad was served with fresh veggies and a big hunk of le tour cheese.

We closed the appetizers with small cups of chilled tomato soup. If you like fresh tomatoes, and I love tomatoes, this was really good.

So, six small plates down, and only one miss... the blue fish spread on the crostini. It was here, however, where the meal went south.

Now, part of this could be that there's no way I would've never ordered the next two dishes. So, I'm not really sure the chef fell down. But, after the first six plates were so good, the main courses were a big letdown.

The pasta dish was squid ink spaghetti with calamari. Again, the execution may have been right, but I don't like squid ink. It's too bitter. Combined with a citrus, lemon, I believe, it was just too acidic for my taste. The spaghetti, though, was served perfectly al dente. I really love Stowell's pasta dishes, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here and say the problems with this dish were my issues, not his.

The protein dish was a boring bass served with chickpeas, olives and radish. Never would I order bass from a restaurant (exception being Nobu's Chilean Sea Bass). My brother catches every fish in the sea, so I tend to get fresh fish at least once a month.  That said, there was nothing outstanding about this dish. The flavors were fine, but nothing to get excited about.

For dessert, they served up a warm brownie topped with toasted walnut ice cream. The brownie was good... the ice cream amazing. We had to ask the chef about the ice cream. Seriously, it was that good. Turns out they make it fresh each morning. The custardy ice cream (sounds like they're pretty liberal with their use of eggs) has the perfect balance of sweet and salty. 

Overall, Staple & Fancy Mercantile has a very Seattle, casual vibe with excellent service. The food is fresh and fun. Being less than a month old, they have a few kinks to work out, but I definitely plan on a repeat visit.

Now, about that parking issue in Ballard...

 

Pike Place Market: Seatown Snack Bar

Yes, Tom Douglas has another restaurant in Seattle. Actually, it's sort of two. 

The Seatown Snack Bar is two separate establishments, though they both share the same roaster. There is a takeout bar (that houses the rotisserie roaster) and a sitdown restaurant. My friend and I sat at the restaurant.

The first thing you'll notice about the restaurant is that you can sit right on the kitchen counter. The other thing you'll quickly notice is that there's no smoke. The kitchen has no open flames or grill. Everything is fresh.

I had the BLTC. You know what the BLT stands for, but the C stands for crab. Simply put, this was an awesome sandwich. The bread was crisp on the outside, but nice and doughy on the inside. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh. The thick-cut bacon perfect. Even without the crab, this would've been an exceptional sandwich. But with the crab... oh my God. So good.

My friend ordered the Fruit and Veggie plate. Normally I find veggie plates to be terribly uninteresting, but this one... wow. Everything on the dish... from the peaches to the cucumbers to the peppers were all so fresh. They weren't boring either. Each were flavored with different spices and sauces.

For dessert we split a piece of apple pie a la mode. Yes, we had dessert at noon. But, because the pie had a cheddar cheese crust, it almost seemed healthy. Almost.

The counter service was some of the best service I've ever had. All of the servers stopped by to tell us about the food, yet weren't obtrusive. They were just really friendly and excited about the food.

Seatown Snack Bar is a winner in every way. Next time you're at the Pike Place Market, I recommend you stop by. You won't be disappointed.

My First Soccer Match

 

While in Los Angeles, I attended my first ever soccer match. Not just any match, mind you, but I got to see Real Madrid... in the Rose Bowl! They were playing Landon Donovan and the Los Angeles Galaxy in an international friendly.

Real Madrid did not disappoint. The photo above is taken after Donovan scored on a penalty kick just prior to the half to give the Galaxy a 2 - 0 lead. 

After halftime, though, Real Madrid inserted their stars. All of them, minus Kaka, who was injured. At that point, the Galaxy didn't stand a chance. It was a little like watching the Yankees playing the Everett Aqua Sox, or the Sonics (sorry, can't let it go) playing Bellevue Community College. 

I don't love soccer, but I would pay money to see Real Madrid 100% time the tickets were offered. It was kind of amazing to see, like watching the Magic Johnson era Lakers, or the Steve Nash Suns from four years ago. Their brand of soccer is just so smooth and fun to watch. 

Ronaldo and his bright orange cleats were set up right in front of me the entire second half. Watching him is mesmerizing. Sure, he's a douche, but my word, that boy can play. He led Real Madrid to three straight goals and 3 - 2 win over L.A. I was rooting for LA because Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle deserve some love for the Team USA World Cup contributions, but I was not at all disappointed at the outcome.

Am I a soccer fan now? No. But, I'll say this, watching soccer live is a completely different experience than watching it on TV. Soccer and hockey are two sports that are much better live. Whereas, football and basketball are infinitely better on TV. Baseball sort of depends on the weather... and the length of the game (or having my cousin's tickets, natch).

Eating My Way Through Los Angeles

Spending a week in LA is a little like spending a week in Hell, but minus the really cool fire. Well, actually, LA does seem to burn quite often. But, it didn't on this particular trip.

Here are my three favorite things about Los Angeles:

1. The weather. Fantastic.
2. The beaches and wee little "mountains," which look nice and make for an easy hike.
3. The food. Wonderful restaurants with food from all regions of the world.

On this trip, I spent exactly zero minutes on the beach and in the mountains. The weather, though, was perfect... cool in the mornings (nice for running) and sunny and warm in the afternoons. And I ate. A lot. Shocking!

I was there for work, and the big boss was on the trip, so I ate much better than I normally do on business trips. We had sushi twice, once at hoity-toity Koi and once at a strip mall joint called Katsu-ya, that dishes up some of the best sushi in the city. Both were excellent. We also had lunch at a great Greek restaurant called Le Petit Greek.

Prior to the boss arriving, I had burgers on back-to-back nights, once at In-N-Out (it's not a trip to LA without a Double-Double) and once at the very cool 8 Oz. Now that I think about it, I had a third burger on this trip at Kitchen 24 in Hollywood. I'd rank the burgers in this order: In-N-Out, 8 Oz, Kitchen 24. Also, had an amazing sandwich, called the Godmother, from Bay Cities Italian Deli. Probably the best Italian sandwich I've ever eaten. Finally, had some pretty good Tex-Mex at Marix in West Hollywood and some decent wings at The Den, also in West Hollywood.

When traveling for work, or any trip for that matter, the first thing I do is stop by a grocery store and pick up some fruit to eat for breakfast. The thought of paying hotel-prices for breakfast, when I don't even particularly like breakfast, makes me ill. So, not a whole lot to report on the breakfast front, unless you're fascinated by bananas and grapes.

Time for a reset. I'm sort shutting down all the social crap I was doing. I need to redo some backend issues on this site (it will be devoid of images for awhile... I need to remove them, then manually re-add them), but eventually, it will be good to go.

Kind of excited to start blogging again.